“Some people keep large denominations of currency at home,” Carson sheriff’s Detective Chris Thoreson said. “That was a large amount of her savings.”

The men, who spoke Spanish, approached the woman and asked her for directions. When she told them she could not provide directions, they asked her for money. One of the men purported to be hurt and need help.

“The victim felt uncomfortable and confused, but agreed to drive the suspects to her home,” deputies said in a bulletin. “Once they arrived, the suspects told the victim to go in her home to get them some money, but ‘to not tell anyone.’ The victim gave the suspects $8,000 cash.”

The men, one of whom wore a neck brace, walked away.

Deputies believe the woman was targeted because she was an elderly, Spanish-speaking woman. She told detectives she could not believe she handed over so much money, but the men somehow “took control” of her mind, Thoreson said.

One man was described as Latino, 45 to 50 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall and 180 to 190 pounds. He wore the neck brace and had two white wrist braces.

The other man was Latino, 50 to 55 years old, 5 feet 6 to 5 feet 8 inches tall and 160 to 170 pounds, wearing a red flannel shirt.

Deputies asked anyone with information about the men to contact Thoreson at 310-830-1123 or cdthores@lasd.org.

Larry Altman has covered crime and court proceedings in Southern California since 1987. A graduate of Cal State Northridge, where he served as editor of the college newspaper, Altman has worked for the Daily Breeze since 1990. The Society of Professional Journalists named him a "Distinguished Journalist" in Los Angeles in 2006. Altman's work was featured twice on CBS' “48 Hours” and he appeared eight times with “Nancy Grace," who called him "dear." He has covered hundreds of homicides and many trials. Altman has crawled through a mausoleum to open a coffin, confronted husbands who killed their wives, wives who killed their husbands, and his coverage helped put a child molester and a murderer in prison. In his spare time, Altman is an avid Los Angeles Lakers and Dodgers fan, is the commissioner of a Fantasy Baseball league with several other current and former newspapermen, runs a real estate empire and likes to watch old movies on TCM.